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Perhaps the only way that Moto Guzzi could have aimed its MGX-21 more obviously at American motorcyclists would have been to give it a Stars and Stripes paint scheme, or wire the horn to play Yankee Doodle Dandy when the ignition was switched on.

Guzzi has increased sales in Europe recently but is desperate to crack the huge US market, where its large, traditionally styled cruisers and tourers should be well placed to take the fight to dominant Harley-Davidson and its home-produced rivals. The reality is that Italy’s oldest manufacturer barely registers in Stateside sales charts and, according to its own research, is almost unknown there even to most motorcyclists.

The MGX-21, shaped at parent group Piaggio’s design centre in Pasadena, has been created primarily to boost US profile but is also coming to the UK. With its half-fairing, sound system and hard panniers, this carbon-fibre clad, red-highlighted relative of the California is a “bagger”, like Harley’s market-leading Super Glide.

The 21 in its name refers to its 21-inch diameter front wheel. Baggers with giant front wheels are popular with the custom crowd at biker meets, notably at Sturgis in South Dakota, where the MGX was recently launched to US journalists. Guzzi even took liberties with World War II history by adding the suffix Flying Fortress, after Boeing’s B-17 bomber.

Apart from fresh red paint on its sticking-out cylinder heads the 1,380cc, air-cooled V-twin engine is identical to that of other California family models, complete with three riding modes and maximum output of 96bhp. It’s a wonderfully flexible powerplant, happy to pull sweetly almost from idle with a soft exhaust note and engagingly long-legged character.

The handling is compromised by the bike's weight, although it improves at speedCredit:
Milagro

Acceleration is respectably strong, especially for a bike weighing a hefty 340kg. The broad “batwing” fairing allows effortless main-road travel, aided by the standard fitment cruise control. But although the Bluetooth-enabled sound system is powerful, the low screen generates noisy turbulence; a common bagger complaint.

The chassis is also compromised, by the weight of the front wheel’s carbon shroud and unusually large diameter. During development this tended to make the wheel flop into turns at low speed, so Guzzi added a steering damper whose resistance increases as the handlebar is turned. The result is a slightly imprecise feel at town speeds: disconcerting for shorter riders, in particular, despite the bike’s low seat.

The popularity of baggers in the States is largely due to the layout’s ability to offer style and long-distance ability without the weight of a full-blown tourer. The MGX scores with its fairly comfortable seat (less so for a pillion), generous fuel range and sweet-shifting, shaft-drive transmission.

Its panniers come with inner bags and are respectably roomy, though can’t take a crash helmet. There’s also a useful USB socket below the instrument panel; linking to a smartphone requires an accessory holder. Other extras including a taller screen and footboards would add to the MGX’s comfort and practicality, as well as to the already substantial price of £17,336.

The Moto Guzzi MGX-21 isn't lacking in styleCredit:
Milagro

As a stylish and distinctive tourer the MGX has plenty of appeal, but its awkward slow-speed steering is a high price to pay for the visual impact of that front wheel. Most riders tempted by a Guzzi would be better off with the less extravagant Audace or Eldorado models, which combine the same engine with more conventional chassis.

Guzzi’s management seems to agree because the MGX is coming to the UK in very small numbers, to be sold through just four dealers. Its sales will not trouble Harley-Davidson in the States, either. But if the Flying Fortress manages to alert American riders to Moto Guzzi’s existence, this most precisely targeted of Italian bikes will have scored a direct hit.